Video recorded by Fleur; LK forum
Estonian text posted 27.06.2019
Nightjar Öösorr Caprimulgus europaeus
The chicks no longer have space to shelter under the female, maybe under her wings in rainy weather. And young birds with such beaks (see video) soon no longer need the food packages of the parents to get fed although in late evenings, in cloudy weather already before eleven o’clock, the rhythm of feeding by the adults has been very frequent: in the beginning of the evening with less than 5 minutes’ intervals. No wonder, a low pressure area also pushes insects to the ground..
Truly time flies and particularly in summer. The nightjar chicks hatched on June 13 and 14 have become 2 weeks old: the young birds have grown particularly remarkably in the last few days.
During their next week in life they will already begin to look for additional food around the nest on their own. According to literature they will fledge at two and a half weeks but remain in the care of the adults for a couple of weeks longer: this we will be able to monitor in the webcam from the Hiiumaa heathland and if necessary, adjust the data.
You might also want to read the previous article about the nest life of nightjars: LINK